CHRONICLE:Lighting Management
Below: The humble EFS-Celco shop front in Bromley from where the EFS-240A pin matrix board (top right) was sold; Celco’s Gamma 600D and the rock LD-favoured Gold console.
bands like Pink Fairies and Principal Edwards with the desk design, they baulked at the Portapaks.
Magic Theatre at venues like Bromley Tech, price — and hence the idea of making their Eventually, Alderham couldn’t sustain
frequently working alongside DJs from own board was implanted. and when the company folded, Richardson
Gandalf’s Disco. But Celestial was still only a rental set up EFS with Matt Deakin, the company’s
In 1974-75, Dale discovered the popular company, so Dale and Bridle, joining forces technician, who had recently returned from
Strand Pattern 23 profile spots and Pattern with Gandalf’s Andy Reid, formed Celco (a ELO’s Flying Saucer (Out Of The Blue) tour of
123 fresnels which in turn led Celestial to a name patently in the same spirit as Tasco 1978.
second-hand Strand Mini 2 — a two preset/ and Showco). Meanwhile, Bernie Richardson, Both EFS and Celco were trading out of
two channel board — which they adapted to the other partner in Gandalf, went off to Bromley and Dale remembers that the first
include flash buttons. join Alderham, run by Showlights owner Eric product EFS showed them was the EFS-240A,
With his more theatrical set-up now Pearce. which was their first pin matrix console.
exchanged for two Genie gas hoists — and Alderham was based in Southwark, sharing Celco bought every item that EFS made,
32 of LSD’s newly-spun PAR 64 lanterns — in the building with Showlights in one half and for its rental stock — bar one console, which
1978 Dale undertook his first concert tour RDE (Richard Dale Ents) in the other. By the it sold to Zenith Lighting.
with Joe Jackson, who was also using the end of the ’70s, they had set up a separate At the start of the ’80s, Deakin and
Strand Pattern 23s coloured with Lee gel. But division manufacturing pin matrix consoles Richardson were ready to replace the pin
the controller he aspired to at that time was and touring dimmer racks. Conceptually, matrix with a microprocessor, which would
the Electrosonic Rockboard. Keith Dale felt at home with Alderham’s provide channels at levels and a chase that
Celestial visited Electrosonic’s HQ in board — which came with a 72-way touring was continuous.
Woolwich, and while they were impressed rack as opposed to Electrosonic’s six-channel “Microprocessor technology was just
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TPiMAY 09 • 47
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